MY VISIT TO COTONOU, BENIN REPUBLIC AND THE AFTERMATH
This Book/Article talks about my past experience (visit to a beach in Cotonou, the events and aftermath)
On Wednesday, 18th of October, I received loan offers from some companies, I applied and was granted all, I thought of what to do with the money and I felt I explore since the loan was to be due in about a week, The following morning, I woke up very early, had my bath and set on my journey, with me was a staff of my exchange , my damaged Samsung and an itel phone(gift from my mom) and my MTN MiFI.

I took a bike to Ojuore, met two empty cars, they were set to go to Idi Iroko(I boarded it), discovered I didn’t have cash, so I highlighted and ask from my neighbor that sells food around and she directed me, I withdrew about #2900 since the fare was #2000, I entered the car, another man joined, after about 30 minutes, nobody joined, so I highlighted and asked a ticketer(Ahmed) if I could get a bike to Owode, and his replied that I could get a vehicle from Atan to Owode.

He stopped a bike for me, let’s call the Rider Mr Z, and the other man which was in the car with me opted to join the bike also, (let’s call the other man Mr X) we left for Atan(the fare was #500 per person), on getting to Atan, I figured out I didn’t need Nigeria sim(s) for my journey, so I asked if the rider could drop the itel phone and my MiFi for my neighbor , so she could drop it at home. He responded saying he doesn’t know the woman but will drop it off with the ticketer since he’s popular, I agreed and gave him, we highlighted and then joined a mini bus to Owode..
the fare was #250 per person.

The mini bus had 3 rows, two at the first row (Driver and Mr X) , some elderly women occupied the second row, I guess they’re traders, I sat with two other people in the third row. Some people highlighted before they got to Owode, but everyone had to highlight at Owode, Mr X and I opted for a bike again since our destination was the same(Idiroko). The rider rode for about 100m and Mr X who was charging his phone in the mini bus had forgotten his phone, he told the rider and they requested I wait for them while they went back in search of the mini bus.
After waiting for 10 minutes, and no sign of them, I walked back to Owode to get another bike, then I saw Mr X and he said he couldn’t find his phone, that he had to do something at Idiroko and that he’ll check back the following day, we joined another bike and left for Idiroko (the fare was #1000 per person). We arrived Idiroko, and I parted ways with Mr X, he was going to Idiroko, my destination was Benin Republic. There were several riders who called me if they could cross me

over, I scanned their faces and picked one, we went through the Nigerian Immigration, I met Mr A, he told me not to mind anyone and directed me to the stamping room.
I got my Passport Stamped, returned to Mr A, thanked him, he didn’t request for anything, I tipped him #500, he was happy and asked how long I’ll be staying and I answered 2 days, and he replied, call me on your way back to Nigeria. I was allowed to exit the Nigeria Border after stating my purpose and duration of travel to the officers, the rider helped with my bag, and when I got to the other side(IGOLO) , the entry to Benin Republic, I was to stamp my passport, and then because it was a new passport, they demanded 5000, I didn’t have it, the phone I had was off, I had to charge it somewhere, then I made a call to my mom telling her to borrow me some money with the intention of refunding it after my trip.
She called my uncle and he sent me #5000 twice, that’s #10,000 .

Went back to the Nigeria Immigration and I informed Me A, then he went back with me to the Benin Border, and pleaded, the officer in charge refused and after several pleading, I paid #3000 , my phone went off again, I converted the balance(having paid the rider who led me) to CFA, I bought an MTN sim at a Momo agent, I purchased airtime and data bundle, then boarded a bus to Cotonou, the journey was tiring as it was very sunny, I would sleep and wake up at intervals and I had already drank two small sized bottle of STRYKER(an alcoholic which I bought in Nigeria), we got to a park, the driver bought a ticket and proceeded on the journey, then we finally arrived at the last stop(park) I highlighted.


I was thirsty found some kids, told them I wanted sachet water, they didn’t understand English, so I had to demonstrate (sign language) and they understood, they made fun of me for not understanding their language (French) and I danced to their joke, and everyone got laughing, I bought another sachet water, and downed it in few seconds, I danced again and they laughed, Finally, I was set to leave,stopped a bike, and told him to take me to the beach since I didn’t make reservations for an hotel, he didn’t know the beach and stopped occasionally to ask some people, we got to an hotel, and a guy came out and he gave us the right directions, we got to the beach, found several people and different activities, I looked around for where I could settle, I stumbled upon Kings Beach, love it because it was a bit quiet.

I needed a quiet place, greeted everyone, some understood English, others didn’t, dropped my bag, brought out my book to write(I love to write) whatever I experienced. I bought a can of Heineken, was sipping it while I was observing the ocean and the surroundings, Immediately I started writing about what my Foundation could do to improve the beach house without requesting demanding anything in return, I ordered for another Heineken and sipped it, I took off my cloth(I was wearing my Brand cloth[ zaheer exchange] ) I dropped my bag there, told the guy I was coming and I approached the Ocean, and I would go further whenever the ocean went back and would run out when it came forth(make Ocean

no go carry me go where I no know).
I saw others fishing, I approached a fisherman, and asked told him I’m Nigerian and asked if it was okay to take pictures of him or videos, he said pictures were fine, he didn’t want Videos, I respected his decision (for privacy) and we continued our conversation, we talked about how much he makes from fishing, his children (their tuition fees) , his tribe.. I loved him because he was positive and he wouldn’t complain even if he didn’t catch any fish, he said only God gives, he said sometimes with little effort you could get the best result , and other times with the best kit you might not achieve a suitable result. I loved those words.

We became friends automatically, and he asked where I stay, I told him, I was staying at the beach and that I plan to travel to Togo, Ivory Coast or other countries depending on my financial status. I requested his phone number, and he said he didn’t have an Android phone for WhatsApp, I promised to get him one whenever I came to Benin Republic, and he asked how soon, I replied I didn’t know, but I would get him a phone whenever I came to Benin, he told me he visits the beach in the morning, afternoon and in the evening.. he told me how to spot fishes whenever they ocean brought it close the bank, and how to take them.. we parted ways, I went back to Kings beach relaxed, had another drink..

I was short on cash, called my friends for help, and they sent whatever they had, and I converted it CFA at the rate of 1CFA to 1.5NGN at a boutique outside the beach. I went back and went to another silent place by the ocean bank to pray and make wishes, I returned to get my book, wrote some things, I always write randomly(whenever I wanted) , it was getting late, looked around for food, bought Jollof rice and about 6 pieces of meat for over 2000 CFA, I returned to Kings beach(where my bag was). I brought out my charger, plugged my phone and was surfing the internet for Random Projects I could work on(I’m a Programmer, Software Developer). Found none, so I came up with a plan to create an erc20 token for my foundation , so it would be easier to help more people(from my funds and donations received by partners/investors).

The following day, I went to the ocean bank to pray and make wishes, I met the fisherman and we continued talking and I told him I woke up very early and saw a fisherman catch many fishes at a spot, I took him to the spot, and he caught few fishes(about 5), he wasn’t too happy, but I encouraged him, we walked for sometime and he tried fishing, unfortunately, he didn’t get any . He told me he’ll be back in the afternoon and ask where he would find me, I told him I would be at Kings beach. In the Afternoon, I was charging my phone, then I unplugged it to play snooker in the same vicinity, after playing snooker for sometime, I decided to return to where I was charging my phone, I unplugged my phone and a lady(frequent visitor) asked if she could use my charger, and I affirmed Yes, my bag was beside the socket where I plugged my phone..
Some minutes later , the fisherman came to call me at Kings beach, he was in a

hurry, but I was having a conversation with the bartender(I wanted to promote his business by buying drinks worth 10k CFA for the top 3 people that spent 10000CFA or bought two bucket of drinks. He told me I could be the MC on the D-Day(I refused and told him, I didn’t want publicity or be seen because I had didn’t want anything in return). I had given the bartender my damaged Samsung(s9), I told him it’s damaged and asked if he likes it, he affirmed and said he would fix it, I told him it might be expensive to fix, he said he’ll fix it and was happy. I gave the bartender’s boy the cloth I wore the previous day(my brand’s cloth) and asked him if he didn’t mind that I had worn it, and that he could wash it and he appreciated.


I left with the Fisherman, and this time we went very far, we walked for about 1 Kilometer, and got to a spot that was very rocky, he said that was his preferred spot to fish in the afternoon, we joked together and in not less than 5 minutes, he screamed “hey, you see fish?” Told him no, then he pointed in a direction and I saw it, he casted his net and caught some fish(about 20), he was happy this time after about an hour, I became tired and told him I was leaving, he said he I could go and that he would stop by on his way home.


I got back to Kings beach, I sat somewhere, requested for Heineken, and the lady who was using my charger earlier raised an alarm, saying someone has taken her phone, I was surprised because it wasn’t up to 10 minutes which I had returned, my bag was there when I left with the fisherman earlier, my bag was searched too, because I didn’t meet it the way I left it(I searched and discovered my old passport had been taken), and there was only one footprint(that of the bartender) close to the place(where my bag was and where the lady was charging her phone), I was confident because I didn’t take the phone, the lady then started saying who could have taken her phone that a strange face the previous day and the following day her phone was missing.


I asked if the phone was a Samsung and if she had password, because i know you couldn’t turn off a Samsung phone without knowing the password, the bartender tried to call her phone and it was switched off, I suspected foul play, it was becoming tense, and they started pointing fingers at me, to solve the issue, I asked how much the phone was, and then someone who was sitting among us,said why should I ask for the price since I wasn’t the one that stole it, and I explained that it was becoming noisy and that they were accusing me already, the lady said she didn’t want a new phone started saying all sorts, they were all speaking in French and i could barely understand.
About 30 minutes later, a man(Mr B) approached us, asked what happened, he spoke Yoruba, finally I was happy someone who would understand my language, but then , he said he recognized my face and asked if I knew him, I said no, he asked where I live and i answered Nigeria, and he concluded I took the phone without hearing my side of the story, he called on some men, the men were 5 now(Mr B included), they moved me to a location, now, we were about 10(the

lady, and some other people that were at the beach together). They asked everyone questions and made all of them leave except the lady(owner of the supposed stolen phone) and I.


A man(I think the group leader) asked the lady how much the phone was, she answered 90k, and the man said “start calling your people you have 30 minutes to raise the money”, 30 minutes passed and I couldn’t raise it yet, and my phone went off, I had to plug it to keep calling people, I reached out to an uncle and he said I shouldn’t reply any questions I didn’t understand, it was getting late, and they said they were in a hurry, they asked me to drop my phone and return the following morning to continue, I walked to the beach with my bag(a pink bag which I had collected from my mom some weeks ago).
I was sad and felt betrayed that the same people I had good intentions for probably had set me up, I slept on the beach sand, it was around 8, I brought out my book to start writing, and I fell asleep, I woke up few minutes to 12 and I felt insecure because if they could do that to me, then they could do something worse.

I walked to the bus stop with no cash, stopped a bike, told him to take me to the garage where I could get a car back to IGOLO, I knew if I could reach IGOLO, I would find people that speak Yoruba/English and I could explain to them and call home. We got somewhere, Saw another bike(Mr C) and he asked where I was going, and spoke Yoruba that he could take me home, and we negotiated and told me I didn’t have any cash and that I’ll make calls from his phone to get him his money. He agreed and we drove to his house.


Before we got to his house, we met some Soldiers(and they asked him where he was taking me and whether he was trying to cross me illegally, he replied no and said I was his Brother) , they asked for ID , I presented them with my passport which had been stamped in and they asked for other other ID, I presented my Drivers License, and they joked about my surname, and they asked me to go, we got home, dropped my bag, and the Mr C took me somewhere, bought food and gave me anything I asked. God bless Mr C.

The following day, I told Mr C I had to leave early and asked if I could recover my sim which was in the phone I gave Mr Z to deliver to my neighbor, because he hadn’t given her yet, he called his friend(let’s call his friend Mr Y) and asked if he was around yet, we got to Mr Y shop and I explained I wanted to do a sim swap, he asked for my NIN and some numbers I call frequently, and took my video and asked me to say Yes. I did. We left there was a beach around(Seme beach) I went there with Mr C, took off my clothes, I joined some children that were swimming, and asked if they could teach me how to swim, one of the boy answered watch me, I watched him and practiced, I felt fulfilled. I told Mr C to take some photos of Me, I requested for bottle from a lady around, she gave me two, I filled them with the water from the ocean.
We left for Mr C house, there was an election, it was Saturday, a youth leader was

to be chosen. Mr C’s friend was a contestant (let’s call him Mr E). Mr E won the contest by a large margin he had close to 200 votes and the other(I can’t remember) I know he won be a large margin, and some youths all gathered under a tree where I was sitting close to Mr Z house, I needed to go home to see my son(fractured his elbow early this month[October]) , called a friend (Jarius Bakes) for help, she lent me #10,000 promised to pay her whenever I got to Nigeria


Mr C was very helpful, but the sim swap which Mr Y said he did hadn’t been done, I don’t know if he only took my information, I got home, Mr C helped, took me to IGOLO with his bike and I stamped out, at the Benin border, the officer couldn’t validate my passport at first, said it was expired, then later it worked somehow, I don’t know if there was a glitch or something, I got to Nigeria Immigration, asked of Mr A, found him, then I stamped out and headed home. The following day(Sunday) I called MTN to ask about my sim swap status, and they said no sim swap has been initiated, then another suspicion arose, I wonder why there was no sim swap request on the Sim.


All thanks to God, I was welcomed home by my people like the prodigal Son, the following day, I started receiving calls from the companies which had given me the loan, and I tried to explain the incident, they didn’t answer and sent a broadcast message with my picture saying I’m a fraudster... I just went for another sim swap in Nigeria today 24th of October, I’ll be heading to the Police to file a complaint and also to the court to get affidavit to avoid stories that touch in the future

Would I love to visit Benin Republic again? Yes, but this time , I wouldn’t trust anyone, but my recent experience doesn’t stop me from helping anyone in the future
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author is a Writer, a Mathematician, a philanthropist,
a Developer
(first certificate from New Horizon[Java Tech -December 2014] )
an investor(forex and cryptocurrency) a punter (made several millions from sports betting), I have a GitHub repository (you can find several projects)
I also have a foundation and I own an exchange

@zaheerexchange
@zaheerfoundation

I don't think you are normal

Is this novel or what, mtchee

Interesting. Benin Republic people are known to be hostile to English speaking strangers. I think I like you and I would love to know you.

This is more than a Novel. we need the Summary

Can we be friends? We can embark on your next trip together

Generalissimo75:
Interesting. Benin Republic people are known to be hostile to English speaking strangers. I think I like you and I would love to know you.

They are very terrible people

You went to a new country to go and make friends, dem com chop you, you be jew.

There and back on time

Offpointng:
This is more than a Novel. we need the Summary

I’ll summarize someday, I just tried to be detailed enough , so future travelers can be aware

sanny1:
Is this novel or what, mtchee

Not a novel, it’s a life experience

illicit:
I don't think you are normal

Well, call me whatever you wanna, but if I died, and it was published, na then you for believe or say justice for so so so

Bintabisiriyu2:
You went to a new country to go and make friends, dem com chop you, you be jew.

Well, thanks, it could happen to anyone, I only had good intentions

valicious1:
this your story be giving the gods must be crazy vibes.

Can't believe I actually read everything

you serious bro You read everything Damn.

I can't read anything longer than River Nile.

puto chupador de pollas

maturemindsonly:


Well, thanks, it could happen to anyone, I only had good intentions

Common keep quiet, it can only happen to jews like you not me, i be correct street guy, i don see things for streets i come wise.
First of all you are in a new country, you don't speak their language, they barely understand yours and you have no one there - that makes them a hostile country.
U should have lay low first with safety being your topmost priority and try to associate with minimal number of people, but instead you went and be greeting everyone. (Mr Social)
I laughed when i saw your novice like behavior, if you were even in an English speaking country it would have been easier
U don't even understand that language barrier puts u in high risk coupled with the fact that you don't even know who is who over there.
At times being silence or dismissive is not an act of weakness,
If i was among those bene republic guys and i see this very unwise Nigerian jew trying to act cool with people he barely know i would just pretend and monitor you later i will call up a few guys and we obtain you sharp sharp, after all you have nobody to call, you are alone and you don't even know the road to the police station.
What they did to you is normal thing that we do to jews, because jews are always waiting to be preyed on due to their very unwise and spineless nature
I detest foolish act from an adult coupled with cowardice and spinelessness.

Bintabisiriyu2:


Common keep quiet, it can only happen to jews like you not me, i be correct street guy, i don see things for streets i come wise.
First of all you are in a new country, you don't speak their language, they barely understand yours and you have no one there - that makes them a hostile country.
U should have lay low first with safety being your topmost priority and try to associate with minimal number of people, but instead you went and be greeting everyone. (Mr Social)
I laughed when i saw your novice like behavior, if you were even in an English speaking country it would have been easier
U don't even understand that language barrier puts u in high risk coupled with the fact that you don't even know who is who over there.
At times being silence or dismissive is not an act of weakness,
If i was among those bene republic guys and i see this very unwise Nigerian jew trying to act cool with people he barely know i would just pretend and monitor you later i will call up a few guys and we obtain you sharp sharp, after all you have nobody to call, you are alone and you don't even know the road to the police station.
What they did to you is normal thing that we do to jews, because jews are always waiting to be preyed on due to their very unwise and spineless nature
I detest foolish act from an adult coupled with cowardice and spinelessness.

I stop reading watever crap that fellow was trying to say here when I discovered how foolish and stupid he was. In fact the whole crap he postulated here didn't make any reasonable sense to me, so I deduced he was trying to make things up just to sound relevant, as I never believed all wat he was saying here. Or how best can u describe it? From borrowing money which he would repay in few weeks time just to go for tourism, traveling without money, calling his mom to send him money, getting to the beach in Benin, leaving his bag to a total stranger to go see the water, meeting a fisher man and making promise to get him an Android phone, etc. In fact I regretted reading the few I did. He's worst than a dummy, a slowpoke and an slowpoke all join. Honestly I don't believe in wat that fellow is saying here and if truly they happened, then he's truly an imbecilic, moronic, dimwitted asshole, period.

People dey this life sha

Op you're a nice person, don't allow some comments here to deter you.

Just use your head wisely in a strange place.

Not everyone is nice as you are, some people take nice people for fools and would always try to exploit them.

If what you're saying is a true story and it happened how you stated it, then the girl, the bar man and others are in on it probably including the dude you dashed your clothes.


Bar man would be like, "this dude obviously has money, see as he dashed me phone, dash my boy cloth, rich kid"

Not knowing you were on a borrowing spree, thank God for your nice friends though.


Nice story, it's been long I focused on a post till the end even though I had to read some lines twice cause e choke.

Bintabisiriyu2:


Common keep quiet, it can only happen to jews like you not me, i be correct street guy, i don see things for streets i come wise.
First of all you are in a new country, you don't speak their language, they barely understand yours and you have no one there - that makes them a hostile country.
U should have lay low first with safety being your topmost priority and try to associate with minimal number of people, but instead you went and be greeting everyone. (Mr Social)
I laughed when i saw your novice like behavior, if you were even in an English speaking country it would have been easier
U don't even understand that language barrier puts u in high risk coupled with the fact that you don't even know who is who over there.
At times being silence or dismissive is not an act of weakness,
If i was among those bene republic guys and i see this very unwise Nigerian jew trying to act cool with people he barely know i would just pretend and monitor you later i will call up a few guys and we obtain you sharp sharp, after all you have nobody to call, you are alone and you don't even know the road to the police station.
What they did to you is normal thing that we do to jews, because jews are always waiting to be preyed on due to their very unwise and spineless nature
I detest foolish act from an adult coupled with cowardice and spinelessness.

Thank you, but everyone wasn’t raised the same way, I was trained to love, sometimes, I get hurt, but the most important thing is I learn, the experience, and I don’t expect you to believe

Therock5555:
Op you're a nice person, don't allow some comments here to deter you.

Just use your head wisely in a strange place.

Not everyone is nice as you are, some people take nice people for fools and would always try to exploit them.

If what you're saying is a true story and it happened how you stated it, then the girl, the bar man and others are in on it probably including the dude you dashed your clothes.


Bar man would be like, "this dude obviously has money, see as he dashed me phone, dash my boy cloth, rich kid"

Not knowing you were on a borrowing spree, thank God for your nice friends though.


Nice story, it's been long I focused on a post till the end even though I had to read some lines twice cause e choke.

This isn’t a story, I only tried to be very detailed so future travelers can be cautious. It’s a true life experience which happened few days ago

Bintabisiriyu2:


Common keep quiet, it can only happen to jews like you not me, i be correct street guy, i don see things for streets i come wise.
First of all you are in a new country, you don't speak their language, they barely understand yours and you have no one there - that makes them a hostile country.
U should have lay low first with safety being your topmost priority and try to associate with minimal number of people, but instead you went and be greeting everyone. (Mr Social)
I laughed when i saw your novice like behavior, if you were even in an English speaking country it would have been easier
U don't even understand that language barrier puts u in high risk coupled with the fact that you don't even know who is who over there.
At times being silence or dismissive is not an act of weakness,
If i was among those bene republic guys and i see this very unwise Nigerian jew trying to act cool with people he barely know i would just pretend and monitor you later i will call up a few guys and we obtain you sharp sharp, after all you have nobody to call, you are alone and you don't even know the road to the police station.
What they did to you is normal thing that we do to jews, because jews are always waiting to be preyed on due to their very unwise and spineless nature
I detest foolish act from an adult coupled with cowardice and spinelessness.

Say whatever you want, I won’t engage you with abusive words, you barely know me or what happened, and you jumped into conclusion. I pray you never experience such, and I have no time explaining to you

Generalissimo75:
Interesting. Benin Republic people are known to be hostile to English speaking strangers. I think I like you and I would love to know you.

I sent you a PM, you could quote me on another thread with your email or WhatsApp

maturemindsonly:


This isn’t a story, I only tried to be very detailed so future travelers can be cautious. It’s a true life experience which happened few days ago

For what it's worth, I'm sorry about how it all turned out, that shouldn't deter you from doing good just be more discreet next time.


Most people I help don't know until I'm gone, few days back, I went to buy cigs, one Mama came to the shop to buy a mudu of rice but her money was short with just #100, I didn't even look at the woman or spoke to her, I quietly paid for the rice on my bill and walked out.


I heard the woman screaming for me but I didn't turn, my Joy is knowing that she'll use her money and buy something extra, I needn't show myself because I am a good guy.


Do your thing but always use your head, just because you're good to someone does not mean they'll reciprocate, the universe always has a way to reward our good deeds.

Stay safe bro.

Wealthyonos:
Can we be friends? We can embark on your next trip together

Yes, we can be friends

Therock5555:


For what it's worth, I'm sorry about how it all turned out, that shouldn't deter you from doing good just be more discreet next time.


Most people I help don't know until I'm gone, few days back, I went to buy cigs, one Mama came to the shop to buy a mudu of rice but her money was short with just #100, I didn't even look at the woman or spoke to her, I quietly paid for the rice on my bill and walked out.


I heard the woman screaming for me but I didn't turn, my Joy is knowing that she'll use her money and buy something extra, I needn't show myself because I am a good guy.


Do your thing but always use your head, just because you're good to someone does not mean they'll reciprocate, the universe always has a way to reward our good deeds.

Stay safe bro.

I was just been myself, I didn’t even want publicity, hence, I did everything out of love.. next time, I’ll be more cautious wherever I get to.. I can’t even recall the number of people I help daily, sometimes I even help when it’s not comfortable for me, because I know I can always get whatever I want later and the other person might not.. thanks

maturemindsonly:


Say whatever you want, I won’t engage you with abusive words, you barely know me or what happened, and you jumped into conclusion. I pray you never experience such, and I have no time explaining to you

I already know you bro, based on your narration, and besides such can never happen to me cos i wont put myself in the position that would allow it to happen to me in the first place, don't worry all is well bro.

You traveled to a foreign country…


With no cash. You Just left on a borrowing spree?

Calling people to request cash ‘as needed’.

No plans… not to talk of a back up one?


Don’t know if this is living life on the edge… recklessness or SOMETHING ELSE.

I kinda like your personality though!